After The Storm
When a violent storm blasts England’s south coast, it’s up to retired Italian detective Giuseppe Bianchi to sift through the devastation and piece together the tragic events left behind in the storm’s wake.
Giuseppe Bianchi’s brief visit to Bexhill-on-Sea has become an extended stay. He is loath to return to his home in Rome because of the haunting images that made him leave in the first place.
During his morning walks along the seafront with Beagle, Max, he meets Edward Swain, who becomes Giuseppe’s walking companion. They form a friendship of sorts and find they have a similar outlook on life.1
But the devastating events of a single night lead Giuseppe to question the truth about Edward Swain. Teaming up with young journalist Christina Rossi – his cousin’s daughter – Giuseppe learns about the brutal reality lurking behind the day-to-day life of families in the local community. And as the story unravels Giuseppe is reminded how anger and revenge can lead to the most dreadful of crimes.
After the Storm is the second novel in the Giuseppe Bianchi mystery series – the much-awaited sequel to Crossing the Line.
Grab your copy today, and enjoy the intrigue of traditional English mystery, cleverly combined with a continental twist.
Purchase Link – http://viewbook.at/Afterthestormaudio
My Review
Thanks to the author for my Audible code and to Rachel Gilbey for organising this blog tour.
I enjoyed this audiobook.
The narration by Charles Johnston was excellent. He has a very good voice for audiobooks. He does the accents and everything.
The story is a definite slow burner and for much of it the listener, and the characters, aren’t even sure there’s been a crime. There are clues scattered throughout, though and the revelations come in an exciting rush. The arrival of a prodigal child turns things around when things seem to go a little flat.
The characters are well-developed and complex, and the focus of the Rossi family, with all their contradictions and conflicts gives the plot a centre to hang the narrative on. I enjoyed their interactions and the development of their characters throughout the novel. I haven’t read the first book in the series but there was enough information that it wasn’t necessary to. There is clearly a *big emotional thing* in Mario and Giuseppe’s past and it overshadows events even as Giuseppe and Christina investigate the possible murder.
The setting of the south coast in the early sixties is an interesting one, and very realistic (aligns with what I’ve been told by people who were there). The storm is a useful inciting incident, especially given the ambiguity it provides for the death. Why was Edward out in his summer house in an October storm? You’ll have to read the book to find out (imagine me grinning evilly at this point).
Not a long story but if you have a half hour commute every morning you’ll be entertained for a week.
Author Bio –
Isabella is never happier than when she is immersing herself in the sights, sounds and experiences of the 1960s. Researching all aspects of family life back then formed the perfect launch pad for her works of fiction. Isabella rediscovered her love of writing fiction during two happy years working on and completing her MA in Professional Writing and since then she has gone on to publish six novels, three novellas and two short story collections.
Her latest novel, After the Storm, is the second novel in a new series of Sussex Crimes, featuring retired Italian detective, Giuseppe Bianchi who is escaping from tragedy in Rome, only to arrive in the quiet seaside town of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, to come face-to-face with it once more.
Her first Sussex Crime Mystery series features young librarian and amateur sleuth, Janie Juke. Set in the late 1960s, in the fictional seaside town of Tamarisk Bay, we meet Janie, who looks after the mobile library. She is an avid lover of Agatha Christie stories – in particular Hercule Poirot. Janie uses all she has learned from the Queen of Crime to help solve crimes and mysteries. As well as three novels, there are three novellas in the series, which explore some of the back story to the Tamarisk Bay characters.
Isabella’s standalone novel, The Forgotten Children, deals with the emotive subject of the child migrants who were sent to Australia – again focusing on family life in the 1960s, when the child migrant policy was still in force.
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